Laura Tarazi works in the Jerusalem office of the Pontifical Mission, CNEWA's operating agency in the Middle East.

On 30 May 2012, the Jerusalem staff of the Pontifical Mission invited Archbishop Antonio Franco, apostolic nuncio in Israel and apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine, to an informal gathering at the Mission’s Jerusalem office. Bidding farewell to his excellency as he prepares for retirement, Sami El-Yousef, CNEWA’s regional director for Palestine and Israel, thanked him for years of cooperation and support for the Pontifical Mission and its work in the Holy Land.

Archbishop Franco, in turn, expressed his sincere gratitude for the the Pontifical Mission’s institutional solidarity with the apostolic delegate and for its historical presence and dedication to the church and its communities of the Holy Land.

The Pontifical Mission staff presented the archbishop with a hand-painted Armenian ceramic piece by a professional artisan from Sandrouni Armenian Art Center, beautifully illustrating Christian holy sites and scenes of Jerusalem.